Retrospect: Portland Foundation formed 65 years ago

The cover of The Graphic’s issue 65 years ago today featured a freshly hatched baby chick, with a nod toward the calendar changing from 1951 to 1952.

But the newborn chick could just as well have been a reference to a headline inside the paper: “Formation of Portland Foundation Announced.”

It proved to be momentous news.

Only one other community foundation existed in Indiana in December of 1951, and it belonged to Indianapolis. The Portland Foundation would become the state’s second.

“Establishment of the local charitable foundation was brought about through the efforts of John Jaqua (Sr.) and Hugh Ronald (Jr.),” The Graphic reported. Ronald and Jaqua had been lifelong friends, growing up in Portland.

Jaqua was president of Citizens Bank, while Ronald was plant manager for the Jay Garment Company and had launched The Graphic in 1949. They were joined in establishing the foundation by W. Haynes Starbuck, who was president of Peoples Bank.

Legal and technical assistance was provided by then-Mayor Albert Abromson, Indianapolis attorney Carl Stilwell, Indianapolis trust officer E.C. McKinney and Paul Ross, director of the Indianapolis Foundation.

The purpose of the foundation was “to provide a vehicle for the acceptance of both funds and property. … The income from such gifts will be disbursed by the trustees for charitable purposes in the community,” The Graphic reported.

At the time of its formation, the foundation actually had zero assets.

But today, its assets total $30.3 million. Over the past 65 years, scholarships totaling $5.2 million and grants totaling $9.3 million have been awarded.

Though the announcement was made on Dec. 27, 1951, the foundation actually came into being on Dec. 17 of that year when a resolution was adopted by Citizens Bank and Peoples Bank to work together serving as trustees. First National Bank was invited to join the resolution and was expected to follow suit.

All three banks have since been merged into larger bank holding companies. Their successors are MainSource Bank and First Merchants Bank.

The six original trustees of the foundation were Mrs. Earl Cartwright, Orville Bechdolt, John S. Hardy Sr., Joe Burke, Charles Baird and James Abromson.